http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf I've just been watching the TED video above of Don Tapscott sharing his four principles for the open world: Collaboration – organisations becoming more porous, open and fluid Transparency – greater visibility of what is going on Sharing – giving away assetts in order to achieve/gain more Empowerment – the disaggregation of power, an open world brings freedom It's an excellent summary from Don of what he's written about in his books, Wikinomics and Macrowikinomics, both enduring favourites of mine because of the stories that are told in them and the thoughts that are stimulated as a result.  Don's … Continue reading The future is open

A big thank  you to the National LIbrary for publishing this guide providing information, activities and ideas to confidently create a remix from material you know you have the rights to reuse. The guide shows students why copyright and licensing exist, how they work, and how they can apply licences to their own work through simple information, suggestions for activities, and links to more resources. By using it, you and your students will be able to participate in the global remix community while demonstrating creativity and integrity. These are all important skills and understandings for students to learn about – and … Continue reading Mix and Mash

I had the opportunity to interview Lawrence Lessig at the recent NetHui and ask him some questions relating specifically to how schools might think about the issue of creative commons licensing, and the practical steps they might take should they decide to go down that track. Thanks to my colleagues at CORE the video is now available on EdTalks. The issue is not only about how schools might license materials they develop (both students and teachers), but also how they manage the access and use (re-use) of existing materials, such as when students want to incorporate images or text from … Continue reading Copyright and creative commons